My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite: A Review

By Eniola Olatunji

The book revolves around two sisters; Ayoola and Korede who are opposites. Ayoola is a serial killer while Korede is the one who tidies the dead bodies to prevent Ayoola’s apprehension by the police. It is a fictional dark novel written by Oyinkan Braithwaite. The story echoes the popular phrase “fear women”. Reading the novel sent shivers down my spine as to the lengths women are willing to go to preserve themselves. Who could have thought that Ayoola, a seemingly beautiful gentle soul who easily made friends with everyone would be a serial killer?

Korede is a hardworking, kindhearted nurse who most people do not consider beautiful. She is meticulous and cares about people. In contrast, Ayoola is a lazy, wicked, and very beautiful woman. She is like Jezebel - a beautiful but deadly woman. According to Korede, “Hers is the body of a music video vixen, a scarlet woman, a succubus.”

The writer describes a traumatic past that may or may not explain how the sisters turned out the way they did. It poses the question whether Ayoola’s killings were justified.  Although Ayoola is a serial killer, the novel suggests that most of the men she killed were to blame. They were the ones who attacked her and forced her to act in self-defense.

In my view, Ayoola is a deceptive person and an expert killer who does what she does intentionally and fully aware of what she is doing.  
“She killed him on the first strike, a jab straight to the heart.”

Even though the book does not explicitly say so, I believe Ayoola’s reason for killing men was because she hated her father. Ayoola and Korede were often victims of their father's raging anger and pure obstinacy when they were young. They hated their father so much that after his death, they burnt everything that reminded them of him.

In this twisted tale of family bond, one wonders if Korede was truly helpless. Could she have done nothing to stop Ayoola’s killing sprees? One might be tempted to think that Korede is a victim of circumstance with no choice but to cover-up her sister’s secrets. However, I regard her as being just as wicked and heartless. While cleaning up Femi’s death scene, she said rather uncaringly “We take him to where we took the last one”.

The story touches on the incompetence of the police force - Ayoola had killed several people whom Korede helped clean up, yet the police could not detect foul play nor find any evidence to nail them.

The novel also reflects on the theme of superficiality. The most powerful dialogue in the whole novel is when Ayoola describes Femi thus: “…he isn’t all that different from the rest of them, you know.”

“What are you talking about? He is different. He is kind and sensitive. He sings to children.”

“He isn’t deep. All he wants is a pretty face. That’s all they ever want.”
I cannot but agree with Ayoola and she went on to prove herself right. Ours is a generation more interested in ephemeral things like sexiness and beauty than we are in deep connections that can stand the test of time.

I would rate the book 5/10. Everything is alright except for the ending. I would have preferred that Ayoola was eventually apprehended and jailed. Unfortunately, she went scot-free. That I did not like.

‘My Sister the Serial Killer’ is available to borrow from ZODML, 196, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi.